Opinions on "starting slowly"?

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kiela64
kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What do you think of making lots of changes at once vs making small incremental changes every so often?

I ask this because I "fell off the wagon" pretty hard this past semester, and getting "back on track" is proving to be very challenging - more so than my first attempt to "start" was, somehow. I thought that making smaller changes might be better/easier. For example, instead of going to 1500cal/day where I was back in September, I would just stay under my maintenance calories at 1900cal/day (instead of where I was eating at 2500-3000cal/day for the past few months....yeah it was Not Great). Also just to "do something" exercise-wise every day, eg go for a walk, swim, or some yoga in the house. But just to move every day so I get used to it.

I'm already finding the eating hard, and I've made 2 slip ups this week - to just stay under maintenance! *sigh* I remember eating at 1500/day and not feeling so hungry at all....it's so bizarre.

Replies

  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    Also just to "do something" exercise-wise every day, eg go for a walk, swim, or some yoga in the house. But just to move every day so I get used to it.

    I totally support this! Perfectionism is such a dangerous flaw (which I have unfortunately) that can put you in complete stall. "Do something" is the best thing you can do! :)

  • Maurissa77
    Maurissa77 Posts: 29 Member
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    Hm, well I seem to throw myself into it and fail spectacularly!
    Every day is a new day.

    And food is so darned hard bc we need it to live, so it's not like we can put it away and never look at it again, can we?

    Be kind to yourself and know that we take years to get these bad habits so we can't change them overnight (although I certainly try , haha)

    All the best to you!
  • nuttynanners
    nuttynanners Posts: 249 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I've been on and off the wagon more times than I can count. The way I "eased" into it this time was by starting out with just logging into MFP daily. I didn't even track at first, but I logged in. Then after a few weeks eating at maintenance and tracking my calories, I started an exercise program. After a few weeks with exercise, I gradually lowered my calorie allowance from 1800 to 1500.

    Consider lowering from 1900 by 50 or 100 calories at a time, and only as you find yourself plateauing. There is no need to jump from 1900 to 1500 calories overnight, it will be too stressful and might negatively affect your metabolism. Give yourself pleeeenty of time to eat at maintenance before even thinking about eating less. It's not a race! And you will find that you are full eating at maintenance in due time :)

    Also I strongly encourage having a regular exercise schedule rather than doing something different every day. If you make a habit out of it, no matter how small the activity, it will be easier to stick with in the long run.
  • pkoll
    pkoll Posts: 135 Member
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    I like the "small incremental changes" theory. This is how I started a few years ago when I lost weight, and that is what I am doing now. It is probably personal preference, both work, but small changes are easier for me to commit to.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    "Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long term results." --Robin Sharma
  • GeekOnADiet
    GeekOnADiet Posts: 12 Member
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    Small changes is a great approach, and it is much easier to be successful doing this. Think of it this way, if each week you make a tiny, positive change, at the end of 3 months you WILL be better off than you are today. Whereas if you try to do too much too quickly, you might actually end up in a worse place.

    Also, I think when we make small changes, they are more likely to stick, and become part of our lifestyle.
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
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    I think it's a great idea! I try to do small changes and add something new after a couple of weeks after I make a change. That way I have a couple of weeks to get used to one change before I add another.

    I sometimes get inpatient and want to add changes more quickly but I'm working on that :smile:
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    What do you think of making lots of changes at once vs making small incremental changes every so often?

    I ask this because I "fell off the wagon" pretty hard this past semester, and getting "back on track" is proving to be very challenging - more so than my first attempt to "start" was, somehow. I thought that making smaller changes might be better/easier. For example, instead of going to 1500cal/day where I was back in September, I would just stay under my maintenance calories at 1900cal/day (instead of where I was eating at 2500-3000cal/day for the past few months....yeah it was Not Great). Also just to "do something" exercise-wise every day, eg go for a walk, swim, or some yoga in the house. But just to move every day so I get used to it.

    I'm already finding the eating hard, and I've made 2 slip ups this week - to just stay under maintenance! *sigh* I remember eating at 1500/day and not feeling so hungry at all....it's so bizarre.

    Small changes are good. And more likely to be sustainable. You need to focus on seeing this is a permanent lifestyle change, not somehting you can do only for a few months.
    Also checking your diary, I would suggest you start using a food scale. Most of your measurements are in cups, which usually means you are actually eating way more calories than you think you are.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
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    I do that when I need a break! Fast, slow, sometimes sideways... it's all part of the journey.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Any improvement is better than nothing. It's just not necessarily enough, and sometimes can lead to something else getting worse... like years ago when I decided to lose weight by exercising only, so I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill every day, then was so hungry and having a 400 calorie snack... Yeah I didn't lose anything...

    But I guess that it's what I did this time too... I only set MFP to lose 1 pound a week (why people who love eating and are overweight decide to go straight for 2 pounds a week is completely beyond me) and didn't even exercise until I had the diet part in control. Once I realized that I could eat more if I exercised, it was pretty easy to find the motivation to exercise, lol.

    There's one thing though... it's arguably harder to maintain than lose, IMO. When you lose, you have a buffer, so a slip up is less of a big deal. What I'd do in your place is set a small deficit anyway... it IS easier some days to eat less, and at least those days you'll make some progress. And try to start looking into lower calories satisfying options to help you stay full on less calories.
  • kimdawnhayden
    kimdawnhayden Posts: 298 Member
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    There's an older book called "New Rules of Lifting for Women" In it the nutritionist says to not change your calories at the beginning of the program until you stop having results. Which makes sense, because you will have some results from exercise to begin with and you'll have more to work with. When you do lower your calories a bit after seeing some results from exercise alone you will continue to lose weight and see progress.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I am a follower of "small, boring changes" too. Evolution, not revolution.

    "Motivation" is a strange phenomenon. We can do almost anything for a while. Following a strict plan can feel really good, as long as we get the results we want. But the real test is time, and life. Can you eat an train like *that* for the rest of your life? Does your plan have room for slipups?
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
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    This was a good approach for me. I find being successful motivating. I was successful at making small changes and it motivated me to make more small changes.

    I never drastically changed my diet. I found ways to trim calories out. For example I switched to the 100 calorie sandwich flats. I stopped using mayo and switched to mustard or hot sauce - that was a really tasty swap! I found it really easy to make small changes to my diet to lose 0.5 pounds a week. Once the scale started moving at a slow and steady pace (success!) it seemed even easier to stick with until I reached my goal weight.
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
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    I definitely do better with small incremental steps vs large sweeping changes. Anything you do, no matter how seemingly small is better than nothing at all.
  • sarahfadell87
    sarahfadell87 Posts: 182 Member
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    I've found that out of every attempt i've ever made, making subtle changes worked best for me.. I gradually changed a lot of things.. Wasn't so shocking and i've found it to be more successful
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    Scooby says the # 1 reason people fail to lose weight is being overly aggressive:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjsmqo1x8k
  • Bowsergirl
    Bowsergirl Posts: 89 Member
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    I restarted this time slowly, by doing the same thing you described. I was having trouble fighting the urge to binge.
    So for a week or so I just focused on being below maintenance, when I focused on getting a little exercise.
    This worked better for me because the guilt over going over my calories and binging was making me self sabotage further. I took away the stress I'd been putting on myself to make big changes fast.
  • JButlerEagle
    JButlerEagle Posts: 45 Member
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    Read a Reader's Digest article some years back that suggested an incremental approach that worked for me. Particularly in the diet portion. That is to start with one meal a day (say breakfast) and get that under control calorie and nutrition wise and when you've conquered that add Lunch or snacks.... It really helped me not be overwhelmed.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Most people who try to do a 180* overnight fail miserably...this is why there are so many yo-yo dieters. The all or nothing mentality generally = fail.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Scooby says the # 1 reason people fail to lose weight is being overly aggressive:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjsmqo1x8k

    Yeah, that one about running and screwing up your knee? Did that. Twice. Both knees. :disappointed:

    That's why I'm sticking to walking and swimming this time around. I enjoy running, but I'm just not strong enough to handle it :neutral: Even longer walks can aggravate my knees, I'm trying to be super careful but also not sedentary.

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